The start of the 2026 NFL Draft could end up being painfully predictable. The Las Vegas Raiders’ plan to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick has been public knowledge for months.
Top draft experts largely see the same dominoes falling inside the top five, just in varying orders. Edge rushers Arvell Reese and David Bailey are expected to fly off the board, with linebacker Sonny Styles and running back Jeremiyah Love right there with them. Could offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa sneak his way up to No. 3 overall to the Arizona Cardinals? Perhaps, as he's been mocked there often. But barring some major fireworks, there’s a strong chance that Mendoza and Love are the only offensive players selected with a top-five pick next week.
That brings us to the Cleveland Browns at No. 6 overall — where the 2026 draft really begins.
The Browns are a true wild-card this year, holding a pair of first-round picks, including No. 24 overall via the Jacksonville Jaguars. General Manager Andrew Berry may have saved his job by pulling off last year’s blockbuster Travis Hunter trade, and there’s been buzz building around the Browns making a similar move again this year.
But if the board falls in line with expectations, Berry won’t even have to lift a finger. To echo what Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report wrote last week, the Browns’ dream top-five scenario is an early run on defenders, with Love mixed in, leaving every wide receiver and offensive tackle on the board at pick No. 6 overall.
An early run on defensive players could set up the Browns perfectly at No. 6
Fans across the NFL will be on the edge of their seats when Cleveland is on the clock next Thursday night. For a team with the most obvious roster needs in football — quarterback, wide receiver, and left tackle, in no particular order — no one seems to have a strong read on what the Browns are going to do.
All we know is what they shouldn’t do, and that’s reach for a prospect like Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling or Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. If the Browns are going to compete in Todd Monken’s first season as head coach, they need to add difference-makers, especially on offense. That means targeting a dominant wide receiver like Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, or an enforcer for the trenches like Utah’s Spencer Fano.
Trading back in this scenario also makes sense, as teams employing that strategy tend to hit more often than not. But the Browns could also be in a position to make moves with their second first-round pick, No. 24 overall, either with a trade-up into the teens to land Freeling in a more comfortable range, or a trade down later on Day 1 to continue stockpiling future draft capital.
It all comes back to those first five picks. If at least three of the five are defensive players, the Browns should be golden. In the unlikely scenario where both Tate and Fano are taken inside the top five, the chances of trade chaos will build with each ticking second on the Browns' eight-minute clock.
As fun as that sounds, this one's a no-brainer. Browns fans should be rooting for defensive players to fly off the board early, allowing Berry and company to control the board with their top positional needs likely matching players at the very top of their board.
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